Boat anchor



May 9, 1961 .1. M. BOWERS ETAL BOAT ANCHOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. l0, 1958 l lll- I ...L E!) INVENTORS 37 Joa-4N M. BOWERS JAMES F. Loews, JR.

ATTORNEY May 9, 1961 J. M. BOWERS ETAL BOAT ANCHOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 001'.. l0, 1958 lNvENToRs JOHN M. BOWERS JAMES F. LOGUE,JR.

2.24/67 A'I'roRNEY United States Patent O i BOAT ANCHOR John M. Bowers, 950 Greerland Drive, and James F. Logue, Jr., 1112 Inglewood Drive, both of Nashville, Tenn.

Filed Oct. 10, 1958, Ser. No. 766,594

Claims. (Cl. 114-230) This invention relates to a boat anchor and Vmore particularly to a boat anchor which may be firmly clamped to a remote object, such as a tree bough or the like, in any position above or below the surface of the water.

One object of this invention is to provide an anchor which is light enough to be easily manipulated with one hand of the occupant of a small watercraft.

Another object of this invention is to provide a boat anchor which may be hooked and securely clamped against a remote object, and which may be completely controlled by an occupant of the boat.

A further object of this invention is to provide a boat anchor provided with a hooked end for engaging a remote object, such as a tree bough, and a slideable clamp which rnay be ratchet-actuated to engage and securely clamp the object engaged by the hooked end of the anchor.

Another object of this invention is to provide a boat anchor having a forward hooked end which may be securely clamped and easily unclamped on a remote object by operation from the rear end of the anchor.

Another object of this invention is to provide a boat anchor having a hooked end which may be securely clamped to and easily unclamped from a remote object, the opposite end of the anchor being secured to the boat and flexibly connected to the hooked end to present a latitude of choice of objects to which the boat may be anchored.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the invention in one operative position; l

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the invention in another operative position;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation disclosing the clamping member and the ratchet mechanism in various positions;

Fig. 4 is a view taken along the lines 4-4 of Fig. 2;

'and

Fig. 5 is a view taken along the lines 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawings in more detail, the boat anchor comprises a shaft 10, the forward end of which comprises a hook 11 adapted to engage a remote substantially round object such as a tree bough 12, the trunk of a sapling, a post or the like. Mounted at spaced intervals along the shaft are a plurality of aligned guides comprising looped metal bands 13. Adapted to slide longitudinally and freely rotate within the loop guides 13 is a clamping rod 14. The forward end of the rod 14 is swivelly joined to freely rotate within the sleeve 15 of the clamping member 16. The forward end of the sleeve 15 is fixed to an arcuate clamping plate 17 which is concave along one lateral dimension towards the hook 11. One end of the clamping plate 17 forms a guide 18 adapted to slideably engage the shaft 10 to permit longitudinal movement but prohibit rotational movement of the clamping member 16 when the rod 14 Patented May 9, 1961 is moved longitudinally or rotationally. The other end of the arcuate clamping plate 17 terminates near the inner surface of the hook 11 in clamping position so that the clamping plate 17 may firmly seat itself against the bough 12 engaged Within the hook 11.

A ratchet mechanism 20 comprising a trigger housing 21 is fixedly mounted near the rear end of the shaft 10 and is adapted to slideably receive the clamping rod 14. Formed in one side of the rear portion of the rod 14, which is adapted to slide within the trigger housing 21, are a plurality of ratchet teeth 22. The ratchet mechanism 20 may be of any convenient type, but as disclosed in. detail rin Fig, 3, comprises a pawl 23 actuated by a trigger 24 to engage one of the teeth 22 to move the clamping rod 14 forward intermittently at a uniform increment for each pull on the trigger 24. The trigger 24 is pivoted to the housing 21 at 25 and to the pawl 23 at 26. The trigger is urged to its forward inoperative position by the spring 27, and the pawl 23 is normally urged upward by the spring 28. To prevent rearward movement of the rod 14, a retaining pawl 29 -is provided to lock the rod 14 in a forward position.

In order to move the clamping rod 14 toward the rear, a handle 30 is provided on the rear end of the clamping rod 14, which may be turned to rotate the rod and the ratchet teeth 22 out of engagement with the pawls 23 and 29. In disengaged position, the rod 14 is free to move through the trigger housing 21 in either longitudinal direction,

In order to secure the rear end of the shaft 10 to a watercraft, such as the rowboat 35, a rod bent at substantially right angles to form two legs 36`and 37 is provided so that the leg 37 may slide through the aperture in an `oarlock support or a similar attachment 3S fixedly secured to the inside of the boat 35. The leg 36 s attached to the rear of the shaft 10, preferably by a flexible connect-ion, such as cable 39, in order to pro vide extensive maneuverability for the anchor. The end of the lrod leg 37 is provided with any type-of securing means such as a clip 40 to prevent the rod from slipping through the aperture in the attachment 38.

ln order to provide additional length or exibility to the anchor, the end of the leg 37 may be provided with a short length of chain 41 having a retaining bar 42 fixed to the end thereof to prevent the chain 41 from slipping through the attachment 3S.

The shaft 10 and the rrod 14 may be made of any desired length, but preferably long enough to engage overhangng boughs or saplings growing along the banks of a body of water (Fig. l) or similar vegetation of suicient `strength and size which might be growing on the bottom of the body of water (Fig. 2) to provide shallow anchorage for a small boat. The material and size of the anchor should be suiciently lightweight to provide easy maneuverability and control with only one hand of the occupant of the boat.

If, for example, a fisherman in a rowboat desires to anchor his boat near the bank of a river or the shore of a lake, or in a shallow body of water, he will grasp the trigger housing 21 in the right hand, extend the anchor beyond the side of the boat and engage the hook 11 around an overhanging branch 12. With the rod handle 30 in the position disclosed in Fig. l and the solid line position of Fig. 4, so that the ratchet teeth 22 are facing down to engage the pawls 23 and 29 as disclosed in Fig. 3, he will pull the trigger 24 repeatedly until the rod 14 has moved forward far enough lfor the clamping plate 17 to firmly engage the bough 12. Leaving the rod handle 30 in the same position in order to lock the clamping member 16 against the bough 12, he releases his grip on the trigger housing 21, maneuvers his boat 35 until the rod leg 37 may be inserted into t 3 theaperture of the attachment 38. After the leg 37 has been inserted through the attachment 38, the clip 40 is secured to the end of the leg 37. The boat 35 is then securely anchored'to pennit the occupant of the boat to proceed with his fishing.

Fig. 2 discloses an alternative use of the boat anchor when .it is desired to clamp the bough or limb 121 on the bottom of a shallow body of water. Fig. 2 also illustrates the maneuverability of the device, because of the exible cable 39 and the bent rod 36 and 37. In

. order that the device may be used as disclosed in Fig. 2,

the materials should be -rustproof and anti-corrosive, such as stainless steel, aluminum or plastic,

When it is desired to release the boat from its anchored position, the occupant of the boat will grasp the trigger housing 21 with one hand and with his other hand rotate the rod handle 30 to a position, such as that disclosed in dashed lines in Fig. 4, whereby the ratchet teeth 22 will be disengaged from the pawls 23 and 29. With the handle 30 in rotated position, it is pulled toward the rear to withdraw the clamping member 16 away from the bough 12. The shaft is then unhooked from the bough 12 and the entire device stored in the boat.

It will be noted that the forward end of the clamping rod 14 is swivelly engaged within the sleeve 15 of the clamping member 16 in order that the handle 30 may be turned to freely rotate the rod 14 within the guides 13 without rotating the clamping member 16. The guide 18 provides lateral stability for the clamping member 16 so that the clamping member will not rotate but will move in a longitudinal direction only. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention, without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore the -invention is not limited by that which is shown yin the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A boat anchor comprising a shaft having a hook on its forward end, guides mounted in alignment along said shaft, a rod slideably supported in said guides for longitudinal and rotatable movement parallel to said shaft, a clamping member on the forward end of sia-id rod operable to clamp a tree bough or the like within said hook, a ratchet mechanism mounted toward the rear end of said shaft for effecting forward intermittent motion to said rod and for locking said rod in clamping position, a handle on the rear of lsaid rod operable to rotate said rod to selectively disengage and engage said rod with said Iratchet mechanism, and means on the rear end of said shaft for-securing said anchor to a boat.

2. The invention according to claim 1 in which one side of said rod is provided with teeth adapted to engage said ratchet mechanism when said rod is rotated to engaging position.

3. The invention according to claim 2 in which the forward end of said rod swivelly engages said clamping member and in which a guide is provided ou said clamping member for slideably engaging said shaft to prevent rotation of said clamping member.

4. A boat anchor comprising a shaft having a hook `on the forward end thereof, aligned guides mounted along said shaft, a rod slideably supported in said guides for longitudinal and rotational movement parallel to said shaft, an arcuate clamping member concave toward said hook having a guide for slideably engaging said shaft and swivelly mounted on the forward end of said rod, a ratchet mechanism mounted on said shaft near the rear end thereof comprising -a pawl and a trigger for 'actuating said pawl, ratchet teeth formed on one side of said rod near the rear end thereof and adapted to be engaged by said pawl in operative position, a handle on the rear end of said rod to rotate said rod to an inoperative position whereby said teeth will Vbe rotated out of engagement with said pawl and said rod may be freely moved longitudinally within said guides, a securing member adapted to attach said anchor to a boat, and a iiexible connection between said securing member and the rear end of said shaft.

5, The invention according to claim 4 in which said securing member comprises a bent rod, an attachment to said boat having an aperture through which a straight portion of said rod is adapted to be inserted, and a key to lock said rod in said attachment.

References Cited in therle of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,520,543 Meachen Dec. 23, 1924 1,852,629 Sturges Apr. 5, 1932 2,522,454 Lew-ry sept.Y 12, o 2,613,100 Casey Oct. 7, 1952 2,730,985 Wingate Jan. 17, 1956 2,819,110 Redmon Jan. 7, 1958 

